The Mother of the Bride
by pjhoo003
Summary: A one-shot in which Renee arrives in Forks for Bella and Edward's wedding.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

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I stood in the airport terminal, anxiously waiting for my mother and her husband to appear. My crazy, hair brained mother had called just a couple hours ago announcing that their plane would be landing promptly at eleven. It was now well after eleven and I was starting to worry.

Renee and Phil had flown all the way from Florida to attend my wedding which was taking place in exactly a week. Renee was practically giddy with the thought of continuing to help Esme and Alice with wedding preparations. It still shocked me at how easy going she was being about the whole ordeal. After years of hearing the same speech about the irresponsibility of young marriage, I assumed she would give me at least a stern talking to when I told her I was getting married. But all that worrying was for nothing, as she was more excited about my nuptials than myself. By far.

Speaking of worrying, where was she? I was just about to call her on my emergency cell phone when I heard a familiar voice shout, "Bella!"

I looked up and there she was, many people away, but completely visible as she waved her arms in the air. I waved back and slowly made my way towards her as she pushed through the crowds to get to me.

Finally, she was there and I reached out to embrace her. I only caught a glimpse of Phil behind her before she wrapped her arms around me and blocked my view. We held each other for a few short moments until she pulled away and said, "Congratulations sweetheart!"

I stepped back and barely got out a "Thanks mom" before she grabbed my left hand and scrutinized the huge engagement ring on my finger.

"Oh my goodness it's huge!" she said in awe.

"Yeah…"

"Where did he get this? It looks antique."

"It was Edward's great-grandmother's. It was passed down through the generations until he inherited it when his parents died." Actually, it's last owner was Elizabeth Masen, Edward's mother, in 1918, but Renee didn't need to know that.

Renee finally dropped my hand. "Speaking of Edward, where is he? Where's Esme? Ooh, I need to talk to her about wedding decorations…."

I stopped her before she could go on. I saw Phil fidgeting behind her, not wishing to contribute to the conversation, but probably anxious to get to the hotel. "Edward's out hiking with his brothers. He should be back this afternoon and Esme's at home with Alice making preparations."

"They're making decisions without me? Let's go! Let's go! I have some great ideas for tablecloths and decorations…." I let her lead me along then with Phil trailing behind us, carrying both his and Renee's suitcases. Renee continued to talk about the wedding until we reached my car and her eyes bugged out. Phil took a sharp breath behind me in surprise.

"Bella, what kind of car is that?" Renee's asked in an awed voice.

"Umm… a Mercedes." I quickly got in the driver's side, trying to avoid speaking about the car, but my mother continued with the discussion as she opened up the passenger's side door and slid in next to me while Phil loaded the luggage into the trunk. As soon as he finished, I pulled out and answered Renee's queries reluctantly.

"Where did you get this? It must have been thousands of dollars."

"Erm… Edward bought it for me when my truck broke."

" _Edward_ bought you this?"

"Yes…"

"How did he get that much money? He's only eighteen."

"He inherited a lot of money from his parents when they died." That was true, but not where the money actually came from. The entire Cullen family was richer than rich and acquired their money from various places, most of which I couldn't tell my mother.

Renee said nothing for a while, but finally resumed her rambling about the wedding, and that was how we spent the rest of the drive from Seattle to Forks.

When we reached the hotel, Phil quickly checked in and deposited their suitcases into their room before jumping back into the backseat to go to Charlie's for lunch. Edward would join us later on when Renee and I would come to his house for wedding planning. Just that thought of seeing him had me sighing in longing, and would get me through this undoubtedly awkward meal.

When we entered the house, Charlie appeared in the entryway, and the awkwardness commenced.

"Hi Renee," he said stiffly.

"Hello Charlie." she replied. Phil looked very uncomfortable behind her.

It was dead silent until I nervously said, "Well, let's go eat," and made my way to the kitchen to pull the food I had made out of the fridge. Everyone followed suit and sat around the dining room table. We ate in silence for a while until Charlie and Phil started up a surprisingly civil and deep discussion about baseball. By the time Renee and I were ready to leave, they had already agreed to watch the game on TV together in an hour. So, Renee and I jumped in the car and sped off to the Cullens' house, leaving Phil behind.

The short drive was filled with Renee's excited jabbering until the house pulled into view and Renee caught sight of it.

"Wow," she said, shaking her head, "They really are rich aren't they?"

"More than you know," I said, sighing, making my way towards the front door. Renee followed me excitedly. Before I could open the door, Esme was there smiling.

"Hello," she said smiling first at me and then Renee.

"Oh Esme!" Renee gushed, running over to her and hugging her, shivering just a little from Esme's coolness. Renee and Esme had practically become best friends due to the frequent phone calls over the past couple months.

"Renee! Welcome! We were just in the middle of wedding planning, if you'd like to join us?" She hugged me briefly as I stepped in, and then led the way into the dining room. With Renee on the verge of running behind her.

Alice was there, seated at the table with stacks of papers in front of her. "Renee!" she said excitedly and moved to embrace her.

The three women sat down and began talking about wedding preparations and I tried to make my escape. "Well, bye!" But I wasn't fast enough, for Alice jumped up and dragged me back.

"What do you think you're doing? The bride needs to be present for the planning." She pushed me into the chair beside her and placed a couple papers in front of me. And so the hours of wedding planning began.

Finally, at five, Edward entered the dining room in his outdoor clothes. I smiled in relief when he made his way over to me to kiss me on the cheek and relieve me of my wedding planning duties.

"Hello," he said, kissing me on the lips now.

"Hello," I replied, smiling when my lips were free.

He turned to my mother. "Hello Renee. Did you have a nice flight?" Always polite.

"Oh hi! And yes I did, thank you." She stammered, blushing. Oh boy…

"Am I still needed?" I asked Alice, hoping I could escape.

She sighed but said, "Go ahead."

I smiled at her gratefully and said, "Thanks, Alice," whilst dragging my fiancee out of the room with me, away from the horror of the wedding preparations and the watchful eyes of my mother. But, nevertheless, it was nice to have her here.


End file.
